1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to patient transfer systems and, particularly, to a manual patient transfer system in the form of a vest comprising several multi-functional patient assistive transfer features, which compensates at least in part for fatigue, pain, loss of strength, loss of mobility, and lack of energy in the daily life of moderately mobility-challenged patients or individuals who are still ambulatory but have difficulty in rising from a sitting position into a standing position.
2. Description of the Related Art
According to the CDC, each year in the United States one in three adults age 65 and older suffers a fall. The death rate from falls among older U.S. men and women has risen sharply, and falls are now their leading cause of early death. While not always being an immediate cause of death, falls can cause moderate to severe injuries, such as hip fractures and traumatic brain injuries, which accelerate death. Medical journals document that nursing homes with one hundred beds may annually experience as many as 100-200 patient falls. Other causes for nursing homes falls can include “transfer” difficulty (for example moving a patient from a bed to a chair), poor foot care, poor fitting shoes and improper or incorrect use of walking aids. In addition, medical journals and other publicly available medical information further documents that for the year 2000 the total annual estimated cost in the U.S. relating to nonfatal, fall-related injuries was at least $16 billion. For hip fractures alone, the average cost per patient during the first year of occurrence is at least $25,000, with a lifetime cost of sustaining a hip fracture approximately $81,300 (of which approximately half was spent on nursing home care). Every year, falls among older people cost the nation more than $20.2 billion in direct medical costs. Medicare costs for hip fractures are almost $3 billion annually. By 2020, the total annual cost of these injuries is expected to reach $32.4 billion. In addition, the high physical demands associated with the handling and moving of patients is probably the largest contributing factor to high rates of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD's) among practicing nurses and caregivers. Work-related MSD's, such as back and shoulder injuries, persist as the leading and most costly U.S. occupational health problem due to the cumulative effect of repeated manual patient-handling activities as well as patient transfers done in extreme static awkward postures. The present invention manual transfer vest is designed and constructed to assist practicing nurses and caregivers in handling and moving patients (obese and non-obese) without injury to themselves or to the patient, including patient fall prevention, with use contemplated by professionals and staff in hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities, but not limited thereto, as well as by people at home taking care of a family member.
In their observations as Registered Nurses, the inventors herein have found that in addition to obese populations, the elderly and disabled are in great need of transfer assistive devices that are better focused on transferring the patient with the highest level of comfort and safety possible, and also provide benefit to the caregiver by reducing the risk of caregiver MSD's. Without an assistive device, one or more people are needed to lift an individual into a standing position, typically using the arms. Particularly for elderly populations, as well as other populations who require assistance with ambulation, repeated pulling on the arms can be uncomfortable for individuals attempting to stand, and may lead to arm soreness and other injuries. Also, the disabled often do not have the muscular-skeletal capability or coordination to assist a caregiver during attempts to move them, which places more of a physical burden on the caregiver. The present invention transfer assistive device herein, in the form of a vest, is a non-mechanical device intended to reduce the risk and injuries associated with the populations mentioned hereinabove. The main objectives of the present invention are to promote patient safety, dignity, mobility and independence, which in turn will enhance their quality of life. The present invention has been developed with the safety, comfort and well-being of the patient and caregiver in mind. The above information demonstrates a current need for improved patient transfer, which can be fulfilled effectively and relatively inexpensively by use of the present invention vest, while also providing the additional benefit of lowering the rate of caregiver MSD's.
Use of the present invention manual transfer vest is not only contemplated for people attempting to rise from a seated position into a standing position when a risk of falling is greatly increased, but also for moderately mobility-challenged patients or individuals who are still ambulatory but in need of assistance while walking to prevent a fall. The front lifting components in the present invention vest assist a person standing in front of a seated patient to slowly, steadily, and in a controlled manner pull the seated patient toward them, until the seated patient has reached a standing position, with a combination of front and back lifting components being used by one or two caregivers to stabilize an ambulatory patient from one or both sides while walking occurs. Other patient transfers can also be assisted by present invention, such as but not limited to lateral bed transfers and repositioning maneuvers.
Many transfer assistive devices for patients and others are known. However, each has undesirable limitations. For instance, current manual patient transfer systems generally rely on various lifting and sliding techniques, which can cause great distress, discomfort, and uncertainty in the patient's safety, as well as possible injury to the caregiver. In addition, in some instances more than one caregiver is needed to assist one patient at a time, which takes away from the care of the other patients. Traditional mechanical solutions, such as floor-based hoists, ceiling lifts and lateral transfer systems have been shown to decrease the incidence of caregiver musculoskeletal injuries, but still present significant safety risks to patients. In addition, they have a high manufacturing cost and are not always practical in a home environment. Traditionally, mechanical solutions are also large, heavy and difficult to transport and often perform only one single transfer function. Two vest-like manual patient transfer devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,945,975 to Thomas (2011) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,122,778 to Cohen (2000). However, present invention structure is distinct from each of them. The Thomas invention is an elongated device having a central opening for the patient's head, and once the patient has placed his or her head through the opening, a front panel section will extend downwardly over the front of the patient and a rear panel section will extend downwardly over the back of the patient. To secure the Thomas device around a patient, its back panel section has a flap-like extension on each of its sides that each becomes extended across a different side of the patient for connection to the front panel section via hook-and-loop fasteners. The Thomas device has three front hand holds for patient lifting situated in a generally H-shaped configuration, one vertically-extending hand hold on each side of the patient between the shoulders and the abdominal area, and one horizontally-extending hand hold across the upper chest area of the patient. The Thomas invention also includes two diagonally-placed hand holds, one adjacent to each flap-like extension that extends downwardly across a different side of the patient. In contrast, the present invention makes a patient look and feel as if regular clothing is being worn, instead of a medical assist device, and the present invention also has three vertically-extending hand-grip lift components that are not pronounced or otherwise marked in any conspicuous manner, two stacked vertically above one another on its front and one on its back, which appear to a casual observer more as a design element on the vest, or a decorative enhancement, than a functional element. Furthermore, the present invention is different from the Thomas invention in that the present invention does not have a horizontally-extending front hand hold or any side hand holds. Although the Cohen invention is vest-like in appearance, it is also different from the present invention, having a grid of interconnected horizontally-extending and vertically-extending straps connected to the exterior surface of the vest that provide front lifting straps in both horizontal and vertical directions, rear lifting straps in both horizontal and vertical directions, vertical side lifting straps, and shoulder lifting straps. In addition, at least some of the straps in the Cohen invention are adjustable, and it does not give a patient the look and feel that conventional clothing is being worn, instead appearing mechanical and drawing attention to the patient's movement challenges if worn for extended periods of time. The present invention, which is intended to be worn continuously by patients while movement and mobility challenges exist, overcomes all of the disadvantages mentioned hereinabove for the prior art.